Cop charged with DWI, vehicular homicide in double-fatal car crash in N.J.
An Edison police officer faces vehicular homicide and drunken driving charges in connection with an off-duty car crash that killed two passengers this past weekend[1], authorities said.
Amitoj Oberoi, 29, was arrested Wednesday for his alleged role in the Sunday single-car accident in Franklin Township, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. He remains in police custody at an area hospital while recovering from his injuries, authorities said.
Oberoi was driving his 2007 Audi Q7 around 6:22 a.m. at “a high rate of speed” when he lost control of the vehicle, “striking several trees, lamp posts and a utility pole upon coming to rest,” Prosecutor John McDonald said.
One passenger, Carlos A. Perez-Gaytan, 24, of Franklin, was ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Another, Victor Cabrera-Francisco, 20, of North Brunswick, had to be extricated from the vehicle and later died of his injuries.
A third passenger, a 29-year-old Highland Park man whom authorities declined to identify, sustained minor injuries and refused medical attention.
Oberoi was charged with two counts of first-degree vehicular homicide as well as driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, careless driving, improper passing and failing to keep right, the prosecutor’s office said.
Authorities said the Edison cop was off duty at the time of the crash. Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan declined to comment, citing the prosecutor’s investigation. Edison Mayor Sam Joshi said in a statement issued late Wednesday that the officer had been fired.
“We are all deeply saddened by this horrific event, and my heart goes out to all those affected by this unimaginable tragedy,” the mayor said.
“Although Oberoi was off-duty at the time of the double fatal motor vehicle incident, given the egregious nature of the charges against him, I am moving to immediately terminate him from the Edison Police Department.”
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References
- ^ car crash that killed two passengers this past weekend (www.nj.com)
- ^ NJ.com (www.nj.com)
- ^ [email protected] (www.lehighvalleylive.com)